CEBU City Councilor Dave Tumulak has urged barangay leaders to activate their disaster response teams as floods continue to hit parts of the city, especially near the Bulacao and Guadalupe rivers.
On Monday, August 18, 2025, Tumulak said many inner barangay roads experienced waist-deep flooding, leaving several families with flooded homes, lost income, and health risks.
The floodwaters also caused heavy traffic in major roads, such as the South Road Properties (SRP) and N. Bacalso Avenue, adding to the city’s economic losses.
This prompted mayor Nestor Archival Sr. to cancel face-to-face classes to ensure the safety of the students.
At least eight barangays -- including Basak-Pardo, Kinasang-an Pardo, Cogon Pardo, Basak-San Nicolas, and Bulacao -- are considered flood-prone. These areas experienced massive flooding on early Monday morning, said Tumulak, as he stressed that barangay captains’ involvement as frontliners in flood response is crucial.
Tumulak attributed the city's flooding problem to uncontrolled development in the upland areas and to outdated drainage system.
“Before, there were no houses or development in the uplands. Now, there are many. The old drainage can no longer handle the extra water,” he said in Cebuano.
He said many flood-control projects such as installation of appropriate-sized drainage mains cannot push forward as the government needs to buy private lots where new drainage canals should be built.
The councilor said Cebu’s drainage master plan was prepared more than 10 years ago and no longer matches the problems of today.
He proposed building water storage or impounding facilities in the upland areas to catch rainwater before it rushes down to the lowlands.
He also called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strictly inspect housing and road projects in the mountains, saying these developments push more water toward the city.
While dredging and declogging efforts are ongoing, Tumulak said that climate change has made the flooding incident worse in the city.
Tumulak emphasized that long-term solutions will only work if the City and national agencies cooperate and private landowners allow their lots to be used for drainage projects. (EHP)